JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville City Council President Scott Wilson announced Monday that a special investigative committee will look into JEA.
He made the announcement during a news conference.
“Hold accountable anybody who had anything to do with trying to take advantage of our city and the JEA ratepayers,” Wilson, regarding the purpose fo the special committee.
Union leadership on hand during the announcement told First Coast News the announcement comes as a relief for employees, who have been in the middle as the controversy unfolds.
“It’s a great step for the community and the JEA employees that we’re going to get to the bottom of what’s going on,” said Valerie Gutierrez of the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers 2358, a union representing JEA employees.
The three-person committee is chaired by District 13’s Rory Diamond and also has Councilmembers Brenda Priestly Jackson and Randy DeFoor – all attorneys by trade. Diamond explained what the committee is tasked with.
“We’ll start with literally hundreds of thousands of documents so that everything has been uncovered," Diamond said, "and we’ll start looking for the right witnesses, swear them under oath and we’ll figure out what actually happened here – we’ll do it in an impartial way but we’ve got to get to the bottom of this."
An FBI investigation will function independently of City Council’s – including the futures of JEA leadership.
“For any senior executive found to have been involved in any wrongdoing, we will urge for immediate termination with cause,” Wilson said.
JEA responded to the announcement with the following statement, saying the utility is working to increase transparency between JEA, City Council, Administration and community stakeholders:
"We appreciate City Council President Wilson’s decision to move forward with the investigation and JEA looks forward to working side-by-side with him and his colleagues to provide any and all information pertinent to their review. Additionally, Interim CEO Melissa Dykes will be adding a discussion item to the JEA Board meeting agenda next Tuesday, January 28th that will seek to ensure that any future conversation concerning structural changes in the operations of JEA which require legislative consideration, are done in cooperation with the City Council and community.
We are looking to set a course where JEA leaders work collaboratively with the City Council and Administration. CEO Dykes has already said there will not be any privatization effort during her tenure but requiring future JEA leaders to work step-by-step with the City Council, Administration and community stakeholders will be another measure to increase transparency. Additionally, CEO Dykes will be holding town hall meetings in every City Council district in the coming weeks to seek community input and rebuild community trust through open public meetings."
Last week, Wilson confirmed he's still pursuing an investigation into JEA by the Jacksonville City Council, despite the FBI taking on the investigation efforts from the State Attorney's Office, an effort Wilson says he also supports.
"It’s my decision as to whether to begin that process," Wilson said. "We are working on the charge now, so I intend on doing it."
Wilson is working with the Office of General Counsel to issue a “charge” to begin the investigation. He says they will be able to subpoena documents, as well as people to testify before the council.
Wilson says they can't charge anyone with a crime, but they want to find out how JEA got to this point and who all was involved.